Dear Charlie
by Sharon's Rising
Summary: When her husband gets taken over by a soul, Charlie is forced out on the streets until she finds Sam and his family. Together they start a small society of surviving humans. Give it a chance and you wont regret it :   Reviews are always appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

_This wasn't how I thought my life would end. I pictured a car crash, cancer, heart attack, and when I got creative I could even see myself getting shot. But being chased down by alien invaders never once crossed my mind. It was slightly comical; I had to smile a little._

"Charlie!" I heard my name being called from downstairs. As usual my husband of eight years was impatiently waiting for dinner. A nightly routine, it almost seemed like everyday he wanted his food a minute earlier than the day before. I hurried downstairs, not wanting to put him in a foul mood. I grabbed dinner from the oven and quickly served it to him with a glass of cold beer. Gary, my husband, shot me a look that said I was going to pay for a late dinner. One thing about Gary, he never hit, he just tortured you with words that sounded like they were straight out of the devils mouth until you were practically crippled. People always called Gary the meanest son of a bitch this side of Phoenix. He could make an employee cry with one look, kids wouldn't go near the house for fear Gary would run out in his boxers with his beer belly hanging out waving around his Louisiana slugger. I married him when I was seventeen and too young to know any better. Gary was my only family and my only friend. He chased away everyone I knew and loved, because I would always pick him over them. My parents died when I was seven and I had been in a foster home since. Gary promised love, home, and security. What he gave me was an ulcer and a bitter attitude. I never had any kids because Gary hated kids and even if he didn't, I would never give him anything else to be miserable with.

This particular night we sat in silence as we ate. As usual I stared out the window wondering what the hell happened to my life, and Gary grunted as he ate. I didn't hate Gary, but I sure as heck didn't like him or even love him. Now he was simply a companion that made me want throw myself off the roof of a very tall building. It wasn't that I couldn't leave him I knew I could. Men were always telling me I was gorgeous, truthfully I knew I was pretty, not a model, but good looking enough to make men stare. I had dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. My body was small but sturdy. I worked hard and it showed. I had a gold tan that I had achieved through hours of gardening. I was only around 5'3 but what I lacked in height I made up for in strength. I was pretty street smart, but I never had a great education. My schooling ended once my marriage began.

Gary used to be the best looking guy around, but he lost hair and gained weight. He was eleven years my senior and it was showing. Gary never really cared much about his appearance. I suppose when the world cowers beneath you, looks become fairly unimportant.

"I'm going over to Lloyds to watch the game." He told me as if I had a say.

"Okay, sweetie, have fun." I smiled sweetly hoping it didn't come off as fake.

Lloyd was a co-worker at the office where Gary worked. Lloyd was the only person I knew that could stand to be around Gary for very long, possibly because Lloyd was as much of a douche as Gary, if not more.

"He got a new big screen." He said this more to himself than to me.

"Oh that's nice." Fake.

"Yep…" He murmured.

He sat there looking out the window for a little longer; something about the way he looked sort of touched me. It was almost…wistful.

"Ok well I guess I'll see you later tonight, and do me a favor don't put on that face crap you smell like shit." He spoke as if he asked me to leave the light on for him.

"Sure, Baby, I didn't realize it bothered you."

"Well, Moron, if you paid more attention to me and less trying to make yourself look like a damn clown maybe you would have noticed." He added a pleasant smile at the end.

"I'm sorry" I lowered my head, hoping he would just leave. He must have been in an especially good mood today because he just patted my head and told me "That's okay sugar I know how hard it is for you to use your head, see ya later."

With that he turned promptly around and marched out the door. I stared after him, grateful to Lloyd for buying something useful to me. With Gary gone I could get all my work done without him looking over my shoulder. I went upstairs and cleared the sheets and blankets off the bed, Gary would often eat in bed getting food and sauces of different kinds all over the place, but he expected a clean bed so once a day the sheets and comforters got washed. The room got vacuumed and dusted, the bathroom got bleached top to bottom, and the kitchen was scrubbed until your face was shining right back at you. I was meticulous when it came to clean, because I often wondered if the reason Gary didn't hit was because I was so good at playing the housewife. I never talked back unless I knew I could get away with it. Gary was my warden and I was the best-behaved inmate on the block.

I finished with my work and turned on the television, my feet throbbed from being up all day long. I flipped through the channels noticing how boring the shows had gotten lately. I turned it to the news just in time to see a man telling the news reporter how he and his partner were helping out in the middle-east when things just started working themselves out. The show panned to a shot of what vaguely resembled Iraq except it was clean, people were walking around in clothes that looked like they could be American and the women and men were walking in stride with each other. It didn't look like at all like the country I was familiar with. Everybody just looked so… calm. It wasn't normal. Eventually, I got too weirded out and shut the television off. I walked up stairs and changed into my pajamas, nothing too fancy just and old marlins shirt and striped boxer shorts.

Right before I went to sleep I went to lock up the house. After checking the doors and windows I walked down to the basement, laying on the floor was an old antique rug I had found when we first moved into the old house, underneath the rug was just regular hardwood floor, but those floor boards came up and underneath that there was a tiny room. A room Gary never knew about. For most of my life I had been a little bit paranoid, and this room could attest to that. I had my second life in that room. A life that I didn't need now, but that I always felt I might have to have someday. I had supplies, not a lot, but enough. I would come down and add something every once in awhile. Today I added paper and pens. I always loved to write and I guess I figured that if I ever needed that room, it would be nice to have something to keep me entertained. I closed up the tiny room locking the hatch that kept it shut and replacing the hardwood floor boards on top of it. I walked back up the stairs and up to the room Gary and I shared and I fell asleep thinking about a different life…


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up around four in the morning and was surprised that Gary was still not home. This didn't bother me, but it was out of character for him. As much as Gary liked his drink, he liked to be home and sleeping it off even more. I sat up halfway and looked around the room just to see if he had passed out on the way to the bed, nothing. I even checked downstairs, still nothing. I pushed the feeling of worry out of my head and tried to go back to sleep.

It wasn't until nine in the morning that Gary came home, looking terrified and absolutely nervous. He stumbled his way through the back door by the kitchen. He looked at me once and hurried upstairs. In any normal marriage the wife would have gone after her wayward husband probably screaming or at least asking if he was okay. I just continued making breakfast, but with a little more confusion.

I spooned the eggs, now a little brown from a lack of concentration, onto Gary's plate along with luke, warm bacon and buttered toast. I put some food on a plate for myself as well. I sat down at the table waiting for Gary to come in. As hungry as I was I knew that eating without him would be a huge mistake and would lead to a tongue-lashing. So I sat there and waited for almost ten minutes until he finally emerged from upstairs. He still had a nervous look on his face and was trying hard not to make eye contact with me.

"Good Morning, Gary." I spoke with almost too much glee. His pained expression was making me unexplainably happy.

"Uh" He cleared his throat. "Good Morning, Charlie, I hope that you slept well."

His reply almost had me choking on my piece of toast.

"Um yes. Thank you." It came out more of a question than a statement.

"Good. Good. Well, uh, I must be getting to work now. So, I will be back at four as usual I hope that you have a good day." I almost fell out of my chair when he walked over and kissed me softly on my forehead. As he turned and walked out of the house I stared after him I was sure my jaw was touching the ground.

I must have sat there looking after him like an idiot for a good twenty minutes. It was the sudden knock on the door that had me snapping out of my trance. I got up quickly, but the strange happenings of the morning had me suspicious of the visitor. So I took a quick peek out the window and saw two men, both were wearing collared button up t-shirts and khaki shorts. I wouldn't have thought twice about it except one of the men I could see had a gun holster on the back of his shorts. They didn't look like cops and they were driving a Saturn instead of a standard Crown Victoria. The whole thing just didn't seem right to me. My head told me _"run" _and I didn't know what else to do so I ran to the basement and hid underneath the floorboards and waited.

Upstairs I could hear what sounded like a crash and the low hum of a man's voice. They were in my house. Cops didn't just break in to your house did they? I heard the voices getting louder and I heard my name being called. "Charlie? Chaaarliee." I felt like a kitten being coaxed out of hiding. They knew my name. They broke into my house and were looking for me. My fear was rational. I curled into a ball on the floor and tried to breathe silently as the voices and footsteps drew closer. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I knew they were directly above me. The footsteps muffled quietly and I could hear them moving the furniture around. Then I heard the footsteps grow farther away and the voices grew quieter… then nothing. I was shaking by the time I leaned forward from my position. Too scared to get up and go out I stayed where I was waiting quietly and listening. Absolute silence, but I wasn't one to take any chances. So I laid down and closed my eyes…

* * *

I was down in my spot for three weeks before I started to realize what happened. I had a radio in my tiny room and thankfully I was able to get reception, fuzzy or not. And as time moved forward the newscasters started to say things like "Another territory safe from humans, the seekers have brought us peace once again." I was confused at first, but I finally started to piece everything together. Everyone was acting…good. The reports were always about people saving each other from natural disasters. There were never any reports on murders or thieves or anything bad for that matter. And the reporters were always cheery and sweet. It was terrible. I finally heard the word on the fifth week in my tiny room, "_Soul_". They were aliens and they had taken over our bodies. Great. Just freaking great. I didn't know anything beyond that point.

* * *

I had been surviving for three months on the cases of water and canned food that I had stocked the tiny room with. I was bored and I had only the occasional footsteps upstairs and murmured voices to entertain myself with. I wasn't sure what they were doing but they came by every so often. I didn't know what they were doing, but it always sounded like they were moving things around. I began noticing a pattern in the comings and goings. I tried to keep a document of it, because I was quickly running out of supplies. There was a portion of the room where I had to bury waste and it was starting to become unbearable. I stunk and I was starving. I made the decision that I would need to leave the room and it would have to be within the next day.

I was scared and I had no idea what to expect outside. I was sure that this area had been "colonized" and had an image in my head of little green aliens running around. Surely they had ditched our bodies when we were gone and they could come out in the open. I took what little water I had left and stuffed it in a backpack. I stayed very quiet and listened. Thanks to the calendar, I knew that it was Friday and I also knew that I only heard the voices on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I slowly opened the hatch and removed the floorboards and pushed the rug back. I crouched down and walked slowly up the stairs towards. The stairs led me up to the hallway behind the kitchen and when I peeked my head around the corner I saw nothing. I slowly made my way from the kitchen to the front of the house, still nothing. Everything looked exactly the same. All of my furniture was still there along with food in the cupboards. I finished my parole of the front part of the house. I checked out the windows. It was about eight thirty p.m. and there was nobody outside, and no cars in our driveway.

I knew I was alone so I made my way upstairs. I hurried as I grabbed clothes and went into the bathroom. I used the toilet and took the advantage of a shower. I realized this might be one of my only chances to use one again. I finished up and changed into the dark gray sweat pants, black tank top, and running shoes. I stuffed a few essentials into my backpack. I had limited room so I only brought one change of clothes. Then I went downstairs and proceeded to take more water. The fridge had been cleared out but I grabbed some more canned food from the cupboards.

I didn't know where I was going or what I was looking for, but I knew I couldn't stay in that tiny room. So I took one final look around what had once been my home and said good-bye to the hopes that I had always had. Now I was the hunted and my life was hanging on the edge.


	3. Chapter 3

I was somewhere in Arizona and I could feel the sun burning layers off my skin. I hovered above a small town that could have been deserted except for the two people I could see sitting on the porch steps of a tiny little house. I was on a small mountain, hiding halfway under the huge Hopseed bush.

I got further into my position afraid one of the aliens would see me. I would wait until night before going any closer. So I took advantage of my hiding spot and lied down. I had been on my feet all day and the exhaustion finally overcame me. As I closed my eyes images of Gary's face popped into my head. I almost missed him. He was horrid, but he was my only companion and I was lonely.

A new image of him with silver behind his brown eyes came into my head and made me shudder. If my calculations were correct it had been almost six months since I left my hole and almost nine since I had made contact with a human. The first few months were horrible I wasn't sure whom to trust so I trusted no one. I stole from any house that was empty and that I felt was safe. It usually was. There were a few close calls, but it seemed that the souls couldn't tell if I was human. I, on the other hand, carried a flashlight with me at all times and if I got even a few feet away from one, the reflection of light would always tell me what it was.

Now I was hungry again and nothing was going to keep me from invading that town. My stomach often dictated my moves and today was no exception. Night had fallen and not a light was on in any of the houses that were visible to me. "Maybe they are all gone to some alien conference." I joked to myself. I suppose if it weren't for the fact that I had already lived a life basically on my own. I might have gone crazy, but I was used to a life inside my own head.

I started slowly and cautiously making my way down the mountain, half sliding half crawling. My knees were starting to scrape on the rocks and pebbles, and my hands were already bleeding.

Unfortunately, I didn't notice the steep drop from the mountain to the hard desert floor. I grabbed for the ground knowing I wouldn't be able to stop gravity it was already too late. The only thing I could do was position myself for the fall. I landed feet first, but the pressure made my knees give out and a sharp pain streaked through my legs. I gasped for air, the pain would have made me cry, but something else caught my eye. A girl or woman, I couldn't tell, but she was probably twenty feet ahead of me, staring at me with her mouth hanging open.

I didn't know what else to do. I would have to kill her. I didn't relish the idea too much, but I grabbed the sharpest stone I could get my hand on and pulled myself up. My legs were in pain, but nothing was broken. I charged her. She looked at me still in shock, but to my surprise she started running towards me.

"What the hell?" I muttered. Souls ran _away _not towards. I stopped short and realized this girl might be a seeker. _Shit. Shit. Shit. _I turned and ran/limped away as fast as I could.

"Stop! Please. I'm human, I'm human." Huh? I don't know what made me stop, but my gut told me to believe her and I trusted my instincts. They had gotten me this far. I turned to look at her.

"Prove it." I was pissed and hungry. I looked over her shoulder at the dark town and my stomach growled in response. I grabbed my flashlight from my backpack and shone it in her eyes. No reflection. We stared at each other, assessing the situation. She was probably half a foot taller than me and thicker, not big but toned. She had dirty blondish hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in a century. Her eyes were a dark brown and her skin was brownish-red that probably mirrored my own. She was wearing a dirty black cotton shirt and dark blue jean shorts. What shocked me were her bare feet.

"Where are you shoes?" I asked rudely.

"I went through my last pair, I was coming in to town to grab a new pair when I spotted you." She grinned wickedly and I narrowed my eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, you just really ate it…hard." She told me like I didn't have aching knees as a reminder.

"Yes, I know. Thanks." I was being mean, but I was grumpy and she was hindering my chance for food.

"What's your name?" She was still smiling at me, so I figured she must not mean any harm.

"Charlie." I was still suspicious, but now was not the time to be picky about friends.

"Oh. Hi, Charlie. I'm Jenny." She said, still smiling.

"Hi." I didn't have the patience to stand there and small talk. "Look, Jenny, I'm real hungry and I need to get some food before the aliens start coming home from wherever they're at."

"Oh they're not there. Nobody is." She laughed and I couldn't help myself, I smiled just a little.

"How can you know that?"

"Well I was down there and the whole town is abandoned. I watched it for the past two days."

"There were two people down there this morning. I saw them"

"Humans. My brother and my Dad."

"There are more of you?" I was so unnerved by the idea. I had been thinking this whole time I was it. Just me, myself, and I. What an idiot to assume I had been the only one smart enough to hide.

"Yes, just the three of us. My Mom died when I was little and my sister got captured by the souls when they first came to this planet." Her smile had disappeared for the first time and I realized what this had done to her.

"I'm sorry. They took my husband." As if it compared.

"Oh no. I'm so sorry. That must have been terrible."

"Actually he was kind of a dick. So they did me a favor." It was my turn to smile.

"Oh. Okay." She must have forgotten what to say cause her lips separated a little and she looked like there was a question she wanted to ask but didn't quite know how to say it.

I got the ball rolling. "Well, Jenny, I'm starving so if you don't mind, I'll be heading down now."

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry of course. You can meet my family." The smile appeared again.

I was oddly nervous. I hadn't "met" anybody in a long time. I fussed with my hair a little and then Jenny and I made our way down to the dark abandoned town.


	4. Chapter 4

"So Jenny, if your brother and Dad were already in the town why are you just going in now?"

"Well, Dad, and Gordy went down first to check it out and I stayed on top of the mountain, until I got the signal that it was okay. They are really thorough, so it took them all day."

"Gordy is your brother. What's your Dads name?"

"Sam, but I should tell you he's not really my Dad. He's kind of our guardian. He was a neighbor and when my mom died he took care of us. He was in love with her and he wanted to marry her, but she said she never wanted to get married again. My real dad was a dead-beat, I guess." I smiled at her bluntness. I wasn't used to chatter, but hers was welcoming.

"Jenny, how old _are _you?"

"I'm 17. How old are _you_?"

"I'm 26."

"Wow. You look like you're my age!" I never got tired of hearing that, even if it meant always getting carded when I went to get Gary his beer. It always made me feel like a teenager again.

"Hahaha. I'll take that as a compliment." We were getting closer to the small, dark town. My pulse started to heighten like it normally did when I was close to "civilization". My wariness must have shown on my face, because Jenny looked at me and patted my back. "It's okay Gordy and my Dad are really careful, if it wasn't safe they never would have given me the signal." This reassured me but my physical response was automatic and I couldn't slow my heart rate down. I was excited. Scared, but excited nonetheless.

The town looked as old as death. Half the buildings were collapsing in on themselves. I could have sworn tumbleweed rolled across the sad excuse for a road. There were only five or six main buildings left. A few were completely collapsed. We walked towards the small cluster of residential properties. I immediately started scanning for exits and hiding places.

As we got closer I could see two men sitting on the porch of the second house on the right hand side. Both were eyeing me suspiciously, I met their stares with a hard one of my own. I could only assume who was who. The man on the left was significantly older. He looked like he was in his late thirties or early forties, the man, or should I say boy, on the right, looked around the same age as Jenny.

We walked right up to the strangers and I half hid behind Jenny, more than willing to let her take the bullet. After all she was bigger and would recover faster. The boy was around the same height and build as Jenny, thick and toned. His hair was almost shaved all the way off. His brown eyes were tired and his skin was red. He looked like he had been a scrapper at one time. He didn't wear any shirt instead he had a white tank top slung over his shoulder and black, basketball shorts. He had a menacing scowl on his face until I glared at him back and he quickly smiled at me. He was adorable and I caught myself grinning back.

The man had an intense look on his face as he studied me and it made me nervous so I quickly looked down at my feet. When I finally looked back up at him his expression had softened. He was looking at me torn up knees. He had a nice face, but it was hardened. He had shaggy, blonde hair and green eyes. His face was tanned and he had a scruffy looking beard coming in. He was tired and I was hungry, so I made the greeting quickly.

"My name is Charlie, I'm still human and I'm starving." The boy laughed loudly and the man just barely smiled.

"I'm Sam and this is Gordy. I assume you already met Jenny." He rolled his eyes at the girl and smiled at her. "There isn't too much edible around here but we found canned beans, fruit, and vegetables. There is a well in the backyard of this house that is still pumping water. There is some soap in the bathroom, I recommend washing up first, we can eat afterwards." The thought of washing up had my toes tingling, but Jenny looked worse off than me so I told her to go first. She didn't need much convincing.

We all walked inside the house. It was two stories and looked like it could have been beautiful at one time. Now it was dusty and rundown. The thought that it was somebody's home made me sad which I wasn't expecting. The living room was huge and open the furniture looked like it was from the 1800's. There was a huge fireplace centered in the middle of the room. Above the fireplace, hung a huge family portrait. There was a husband, wife, two boys, and one girl. I could almost picture them playing in the house, but an image of seekers coming in and taking the family had me blinking away tears that threatened to fall.

"So Charlie what's your story?" Sam interrupted my reverie.

"Um. Story? Well let's see. I was married to son of a bitch." I paused for effect. "Then he came home one day, and was a complete gentleman. So I freaked out and hid under my basement for three months." I waited for him to stop laughing. "I finally got the nerve to come out of hiding when I ran out of supplies. Then there was nobody left and I've been on the move since."

He thought about this for a moment.

"You didn't have any family?"

"No, it was just Gary and I."

"The son of a bitch?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "That's the one."

He let an amused smile play on his mouth for a while as we stared at each other. Gordy had been listening by the door. He was looking at me too so I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"You been on your own for how long?" Gordy asked tentatively.

"Going on a year." It seemed like longer. It seemed like forever.

"That must have been lonely."

"It was, but I deal well with solitude so it wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

Sam was quiet, still looking at me with the same intensity as he had a few moments earlier. I sat down on the dusty old couch and leaned my head back. Sitting on furniture for some reason always made me feel more normal. Safe.


	5. Chapter 5

I must have fallen asleep, because next thing I knew Jenny was standing over me, looking much fresher and smelling way better.

"Charlie, it's your turn to shower." Those words were all I needed, I flew off the couch and upstairs to find the restroom.

"Second door on your left!" Jenny called from downstairs. The bathroom smelled like the rest off the house, dusty. Jenny had left the soap on the counter for me. It was old and probably not as useful as it once was. It vaguely smelled of pine and lemon and the chunk I picked up crumbled between my hands. I turned the shower on, the stream was soft but steady and the water was inviting. I quickly stripped and jumped in.

I'm a firm believer that people have never truly experienced a shower until they've gone a month without one. I could have fallen asleep standing up, but my stomach wouldn't let me forget my priorities. So I finished quickly and put back on my green tank top and khaki shorts. I pulled my rubber band out of my pocket and quickly tied my hair up in a messy pony tail.

The dirty mirror showed the reflection of someone I barely recognized anymore. I was fighting a war and it was showing in my face.

Before going downstairs I checked out the other rooms in the house. Most of them still had furniture, and to my pleasure I also found a few clothing options. I didn't want to be greedy so I left everything the way it was and headed downstairs for a much deserved meal.

"You look better." Jenny noted.

"Yeah I bet that shower felt like gold, huh?" Gordy was grinning at me. I nodded my head once. Sam looked at me and quickly turned away

"Well, food's all ready for ya." He pushed a plate of food towards me and my stomach loudly thanked him.

"We found the utensils and stuff all in here." He waved his arm around the kitchen. "This house seemed to have the most left in it."

"How did you know that this place was abandoned?" I asked, as if I didn't already know the answer.

"Staked it for two days." He replied simply. "Not one living soul came around, we are in the middle of nowhere practically. It's not even on a map."

"How did you come to find it then?"

"I knew this place was here, that's how. My great, great, grandfather lived in this town when he was a child." He looked at me expectantly. "Well what about you? How did you know it was here?"

"I didn't, I jumped onto the back of a pickup truck not knowing where it was headed. It stopped on the highway over the mountain. I knew I had to run before the driver spotted me so I hid behind a tree. Then he took off and I was stuck. I knew I couldn't follow the highway so I hiked the mountain to see if I could spot a town and what do ya know I found one." My answer didn't seem to surprise him and he nodded as if he expected as much from me.

I turned from him and went back to eating my food, which I was sure was supposed to be gross but it tasted like prime rib and lobster at the moment.

I could see him looking at me from the corner of my eye. Scrutinizing my every move. I raised my head back up and looked him square in the eye.

"What is your problem?" Apparently the months on my own had put me in some serious need of charm school. He just smiled at me with a sparkle in his eyes.

"I don't know if we can trust you, Charlie. But I am really happy to know that we aren't the only ones left." I didn't know what else to say so I looked up to the ceiling and shook my head and then went back to my delicious dinner.

"I trust her." Jenny winked at me.

Sam laughed, "I'm sure you do, Jenny, you would trust a soul if it meant you got someone else to talk to besides me and Gordy."

"Hey I resent that," Gordy said "I'm great company, it's you she can't stand."

"You both suck, Charlie is already far more entertaining than the two of you jerks." She stuck her tongue out at her brother. And they all laughed together.

They were family and I was a stranger, I had only myself and I could never forget that, but they drew me in like moths to a flame. I was helpless against the hope that I could stay with these people and be a part of that family. For the fourth time that night I locked eyes with Sam. A curiosity burned in his eyes. And once again he won as I turned my head to look out the window. I wasn't even close to satisfied, but the pit in my stomach felt a little fuller.

I was ready to sleep for a year, the day had been a long one and I was excited to start fresh.

"Well there are three rooms in this house, and only two have beds. So we can do girls in one room, boys in the other or if you feel more comfortable, Charlie, you can take the couch."

"You're okay with sharing a bed, right? Jenny smiled sweetly at me. "I really hate sleeping alone and it would be so nice to have girl to talk to."

I sighed, but her charm was wearing me down. "Okay, sister, but I don't do pillow talk."

"Okay so it's settled." Sam obviously wanted to be leader in our little brigade. Well he wouldn't get an argument from me tonight, but I didn't intend to be pushed around. I had already had enough from Gary, I finally had some control in my life and I wasn't about to let some guy boss me around again. I was my own leader.


	6. Chapter 6

Jenny led me into the smaller of the two bedrooms. It must have been the girl's room at one time. The walls were an off shade of pink that looked like it had faded over the years and the furniture was a dirty white. There was a sheet on the bed and a musky smelling comforter that had particles from the ceiling all over it. I shook out the bedding and figured it was better than nothing. I rummaged through the old chest of drawers, only finding a few items, some of which would fit me, but not Jenny. We stood there for a while before crawling into the bed. I had closed my eyes for a second when Jenny started talking.

"So what do you think?" Jenny asked.

"About the room? Uh its beautiful, Buckingham Palace comes to mind." Jenny laughed and rolled her eyes at me.

"I'm sure it is, compared to the places you have been sleeping," I couldn't argue with that logic. "But I was talking about my brother and my Dad. Do you like them?"

"Jenny, I have spent two hours with them, you all seem great, but it's a little early for opinions." I didn't really have an excuse, I knew I wasn't being very kind, but I was tired and bad at socializing.

"Okay," She didn't seem very upset by my reply, "But Dad wants to stay here for awhile, and I really hope that you will stay too." Half of me wanted to be on my own living by my rules, but the other half yearned for a family. And because I didn't have much of an answer I just said, "As long as it makes sense for me to stay…" My answer seemed to satisfy her.

"Good. I like you and I've been lonely without Lisa."

"Your sister."

"Yeah… we were close."

"What happened?" I wondered out loud, She closed her eyes for a moment, "If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."

"No it's ok. I was just thinking…" She lay quietly for a moment longer. "We had been hiding for awhile down in California, We had a place up north that the souls hadn't gotten too yet. We didn't even know…" She shook her head sadly, "Our neighbors started acting different and Dad got freaked out, but we thought he was just overreacting. We must have been the last ones left in the area, because they started watching us… Lisa had been invited to a birthday party one weekend, Dad didn't want to let her go, but he felt bad. When she came back she was changed, her eyes reflected in the light." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "She brought seekers with her, but by this time we knew what had happened and we ran, Dad was trying to get Lisa to go with us. He didn't realize she was already gone…" She finished the story with a whisper.

"I'm so sorry, Jenny, I really am. How old was she?"

" She was fifteen and she was so smart. I miss her everyday."

I lay there thinking about what she said. She had a life, and she had friends, maybe a boyfriend even. I wasn't leaving much behind, but she had lost so much. I would have hugged her, but I wasn't much for physical contact. So I gently touched her shoulder and said goodnight. I fell asleep and dreamed of green hills and blue skies, where aliens were things of movies and happiness was attainable.

The next day I woke up with my knees hugging my chest on the very edge of the bed. I sat up slowly and looked at the culprit for my discomfort. Jenny was sleeping almost horizontally sprawled across the bed snoring lightly. I glared at her, but wound up smiling a second later. I carefully got up from the bed and took some of the clothes that were inside the drawers. Then I tiptoed over to the boy's room, which was down the hall towards the stairs. Gordy was asleep in a position that mirrored his sisters exactly. His snores were much louder, though. I looked in the room to find that Sam was nowhere to be found.

Before making my way downstairs, I stopped in the restroom to put on the clean clothes; a pair of white shorts that stopped just above my knee and a yellow v-necked shirt. The items were a tad to small, but they were preferable to the stinky clothes I had on. I checked the watch I had jacked from a house a few weeks back_._ It was 6am, I wasn't sure what time these people would wake up and I wanted some time to myself.

I walked downstairs and into the living room. I almost started laughing but my hands flew up to my mouth before the giggle could escape. Sam was sleeping on the couch, legs hanging off the end with a sheet covering the lower half of his body. His bare chest was thick and muscular. In the light I noticed red flecks in his beard. Ad I stood there watching him I realized that this man was beautiful. This thought had me swiftly turning around and walking away from him.

I walked out on the front porch looking at the property around me. The town in the morning light didn't look so old as I thought it was, but it did have me curious as to what actually happened here. I walked down the road towards the cluster of shops we walked by the night before. I quickly found the store I needed, a clothing and shoe shop.

The building was ancient, but the clothes were not that bad, except for the fact that almost everything had been chewed up, either by rats or moths. There were a few untouched items. Among them were some dusty boxes that had various logos on them. After a few boxes of women's pumps, I found, to my joy, a pair of wrapped tennis shoes.

As I was going through the rest of the boxes, a firm hand gripped my shoulder sending a panicking shriek from my mouth.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I turned around to face an angry, half naked Sam.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're trying to take all the good stuff." His words had me narrowing my eyes.

"Um excuse me? I was looking for shoes because Jenny has been running around barefoot. Not that I have to explain myself to YOU." I was not happy.

"Yeah. Right. Look if you plan on scavenging and taking off tell me now."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I was pissed now. "First of all, _if_ I was going to sneak off I would have done it in the middle of the night. I'm not stupid enough to wait for daytime."

"You might be off schedule." Smart-ass.

"Look, dude, I'm only going to say this once, I wasn't sneaking off. If I wanted to leave I would go. I would say goodbye first and I would not just take whatever I wanted. I understand you don't know me, but I am a fair person, you can believe me or not I couldn't care less." We glared at each other for a moment. I couldn't fight him, he was almost 6'2 and he was a strong guy, but I was fast so if fists were thrown running would be my best defense. Thankfully it wouldn't come to that, his glare turned into a half smile.

"Okay, sweetie, today I believe you." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Gee thanks!" I cried with false enthusiasm. "And by the way, if you value your life you will not call me sweetie." I gave him my nicest smile. "Now if you will excuse me." I turned to leave, but he caught my wrist softly and tugged me back.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I know I can be a jerk, but I only have my family, and if something or somebody hurt them…" he shook his head, "I don't know what I would do, but please don't leave because of me." He seemed sincere.

"I'm just fine where I am for now," I told him. "I'm not going to leave." His stare and touch were making me uncomfortable so I pulled my hand away and looked at his chest, which made things worse. The lower I dropped my eyes the more red my face got. So I turned my face back towards him.

"I'm starving so what do you think about some breakfast?" He asked politely.

"Sounds great." I mumbled, and we both walked out in silence.


	7. Chapter 7

Gordy and Jenny were already up when we got back to the house. They were in the middle of heating up the food on the gas stove.

"Where were you two?" Gordon asked suspiciously.

"Uh we went exploring a little." Sam answered quickly. "Charlie, found you some shoes, Jenny." He smiled warmly at her.

"Yes! Good ones? Well it doesn't even matter shoes are shoes." I laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Yes, they're in good condition." I smiled at her and handed her the box I found. "You're a size 8 and a half?"

"Wow, you're close, I'm an 8, but thank you so much!"

"Um, yeah sure no problem." I muttered.

"Well what did you bring me? Where is my present?" Gordy asked me.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't know you needed anything. Uh, but there are some clothes upstairs in the master bedroom. I found them last night and I spotted some guys clothes too."

"I was just kidding, but I could use the clothes so thanks." He winked at me.

We sat down for breakfast and went over the plans for the day. We would work on exploring and going through the town bit by bit looking for things we could use. We split up in two groups with me and Sam together and Jenny and Gordy together.

We took the right side of the town and they took the left, we worked our way up from the south to the north. Sam and I walked quickly, not wanting to be in the open for too long. He didn't say very much and I didn't have much to say, so the conversation was lacking to say the least. I finally got tired of it halfway down. We were in one of the old warehouses looking through the dirty and mostly empty aisles when I got bored.

"So, Sam, Where are you from originally?" I spoke loudly, because he was on the other side of the aisle. It wasn't even an original question, but I didn't care. I was sick of silence.

"Well, I was born in Westport, Ireland. I was two when my family decided to move to New York. And I moved to California when I was seventeen. We came to Arizona about two months ago."

"You said that your grandfather lived in this town when he was a child."

"He did, but he moved to Ireland to be with my Grandmother."

"Oh. What happened to you parents?" I wasn't sure if that was an inappropriate question.

"Dead." He was emotionless.

"Oh, sorry."

"Why? Life is a death sentence. We all have to go through it at some point. My parents were lucky to have a life full of love. I'm happy they're gone, I would never have wanted them to live through this tragedy." His words seemed callous until you listened to them correctly.

"I get it." I said, because I didn't know what else to say. We were quiet again. I had found some trash bags in one of the stores and was putting all my treasures in it.

"Well what about you? Where are you from originally?" I wasn't as responsive since I didn't like talking about my life.

"I have been in Arizona all my life. My parents died when I was seven, I lived with foster families all over Arizona until I met Gary at my high school in Tucson. We got married and I was there for 12 years."

Sam walked around the corner so that we were face to face.

"Why did you marry him?"

"I don't really know." I did know. "I was bored." I lied.

"You're lying. People don't get married because they're bored."

"Yes, celebrities did it all the time."

"No, they got married for media attention." He retorted dryly. "When you're bored you eat or watch TV, you don't marry a guy you can't stand."

"I liked him well enough when I married him."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Yes, it does to me, well it did at the time anyways. I liked him, he was strong and masculine and smart. He made me feel like I had a place to go home too…" I stopped before I started sounding like an idiot.

"So you married him for security." It wasn't even a question. It was a fact.

"I never said that."

"You did without realizing it. Why wont you just come out and say it?"

I sighed, he was right and he knew it. I looked around. We had both stopped working and were now involved in something way more entertaining.

"It sounds terrible. I didn't have money and I wasn't book smart. Gary was my best option." I was ashamed of myself. It was embarrassing to admit you married someone, because you thought you would end up homeless.

"I don't think it does. It's honest at least and I'm sure it wasn't easy for you." He said softly.

"I…It wasn't that bad. If anything it made me realize how important independence is."

He chuckled, "If independence makes you realize anything, it's how much being alone sucks."

"People are overrated… no offense."

"None taken, but I have to politely disagree." His green eyes sparkled, "Us being here is proof against that. We are a dying species who knows how many are left on this planet, yet instincts have drawn us together." He was staring at me again, making me nervous.

"Well I don't see how that proves anything." I said defiantly ready to end the conversation and continue working. I turned my back to avoid his eyes, but I could still feel him watching me as I picked up a stack of dishes off one of the shelves. Determined to ignore him I tried humming while I was wrapping up the dishes.

"What is that song?" He asked me quietly.

"It's called Romeo and Juliet." I said, still keeping my eyes averted.

"I like it. It reminds me of something…" When he trailed off I turned to look at him. His eyes were vacant as if he was lost in time. I shook my head and went back to work. He was weird. Like hot and cold or bipolar, I could never predict what he was going to say. It scared me.

We finished the day at around 7:30 pm. We went in to wash up and eat more beans and fruit. I wasn't sure how long this could last, but I was pretty sure I was running out of tolerance for the meal. As we ate we discussed the things we found. Gordy was excited because he found an old football and he used to play in high school. Jenny had a bunch of clothes that had been wrapped in plastic and were still usable. They also found more soap and cleaning supplies. I was sure the majority had lost its effectiveness, but it was hard to complain about it.

After dinner we sat in the living room while Gordy and Jenny talked about life before the invasion. Sam and I listened, totally entertained, through stories about boyfriends, girlfriends, neighbors and household pets. Gordy was great at story telling, he made me laugh so hard I had to go outside and use the restroom before I had an accident on the couch. Jenny always talked with enthusiasm and painted a great picture with tons of detail. They didn't really talk about Lisa, I had a feeling it was because Sam didn't want her mentioned. I would often look up to see him watching me and we would both quickly turn away out of embarrassment.

Gordy and Jenny had an amazing friendship, most siblings would probably be fighting about everything at this age, but Gordy was sweet and let Jenny get away with everything. They had been through so much, Jenny had become like a jewel to both of them. She was to be protected.

These were our days. Get up and work until nightfall. Afterwards we ate and told stories or played games. I was working on the house. I used whatever I could to fix what needed to be fixed. Jenny cleaned the house, top to bottom dusting and washing everything. In a week the house almost looked new. Thankfully, the hardware store had not been cleaned out and we found tons of supplies along with new paint. Gordy and Sam worked on the rest of the town, going through wreckages and using the scraps to repair what was salvageable.

We didn't see each other all too much during the day, Jenny and I probably spent the most time together. She was good company. I would repair, and she would clean and talk.

"What happened with Sam and your mom?" I asked her one day, while we were trying to fix up the downstairs bathroom.

"Well we all lived in the same area up north, Sam and her had been really good friends since they were young, I guess, anyways he fell in love with her, but she didn't feel the same. She met my dad and they got married, but right after Lisa was born he left her."

She stopped cleaning and turned to look at me, "Sam was amazing though, he had never left her side and helped support us after my real dad took off. He really loved her."

"How did she die?"

"Drug overdose. We aren't sure if it was an accident or on purpose, but they never found a note or anything. I was only five when she died. Sam was devastated, he knew she was depressed, but she never got help."

"How did he manage to get custody?"

"She left us to him, in her will. Nobody tried to fight him."

"Oh." It was all I could manage.

She picked up her cloth and continued scrubbing. I sat there for a moment thinking about what she said before I grabbed my tools and went back to fixing the sink.


	8. Chapter 8

"There are only twenty cans left!" Gordy shouted from the kitchen.

"What how is that possible?" Sam asked.

"I don't know! I thought we had more, but maybe we didn't portion correctly."

We were barely on our third week in town and our food supply was dwindling to say the least.

Sam and I looked at each other. We both knew that picking up food was going to be necessary. We would probably have to go out in less than five days and that was if we used the food sparingly. I was already fifteen pounds lighter than I was last year and I didn't want to lose any more weight.

That night the kids went into the living room to play with the new cards they had found in the collapsed general store and I went into the kitchen to clean the dishes off. I was half way through when Sam came in to help. Typical man.

"Hey."

"Hey." We had not really talked much except when it was practical and had to do with our daily jobs. I think both of us were lacking seriously in social conversation.

"Um, so what are we going to do about this food thing?" I asked him as he picked up one of the dishes next to me and started to dry it.

"I'm not sure. I can just go out and do a pick-up myself."

"That's stupid, two people have to go." He turned to look at me.

"Well which two?" He studied me thoughtfully.

"I-I don't know, I think that I will worry too much if Gordy or Jenny goes." He smiled as if he expected as much. "I don't like leaving them here by themselves either, but one way or another it's dangerous, but I think it will be less dangerous if they are here." The words came out jumbled.

"So me and you?" He asked as he was carelessly putting a dish away.

"I think so… that might be the best way." He played with his beard idly.

"I agree. That's the best way. No funny business though." I turned up to look at him and to my shock and embarrassment he winked at me! I glared at him for a few seconds as he grinned at me with a stupid looking smile on his face.

"You're an idiot." I muttered before turning around and storming out of the kitchen. The sound of his booming laughter carried through the house and further irritated me.

"What's so funny?" Gordy asked as I stalked through the living room and up the stairs.

I just looked at him and rolled my eyes towards the ceiling.

I went up to our room and lied down on the bed. I didn't understand him. He was exasperating and every time I thought I figured him out he would do something freaky, like wink at me. Who winks anymore? It wasn't even a big deal why was I so irked by it, or by him for that matter? Maybe it was just that he was a man. Maybe Gary ruined me and now I was part of the he-haters group. I didn't want to think about it anymore. I closed my eyes and tried to block out thoughts and feelings.

Next thing I knew it was 4am. Jenny was asleep next to me and I didn't know what to do with myself. I got up as quietly as possible, grabbed my shoes and my hair tie and crept down the stairs trying not to wake anybody. As I reached the door I heard a noise from behind me.

"Where are you going?" Sam was sitting up halfway on the couch rubbing his eyes.

"I couldn't sleep." I replied in a whisper.

"You didn't answer me."

"I was going to go for a run." I really didn't know what I was going to do until he had asked me.

"I'll go with you." He said grabbing for his shoes.

"Don't be silly go back to sleep."

"No I want to. Come on it will be fun." I sighed there was no point in arguing with him.

"Fine, but I'll wait outside. You can, um, put some clothes on." I looked at his sheet and back at him. He chuckled softly.

"Okay, but don't start without me, you'll need all your energy." I smiled and walked out the door.

As I waited for him I started doing some stretches. It irritated me that here I was trying to clear my head and Sam made it impossible for me to do that. I was too busy trying to figure him out to focus on anything else. I was barely done doing my first stretch when he came out of the house in sweat pants and tennis shoes.

"Don't you own any shirts?" I asked him.

"Sure, but I save them for really nice occasions." He grinned at me and I went back to stretching. After about ten minutes we were both done and ready to go.

"So where to?" Sam asked me quietly.

"Mm. Let's go around the town perimeter four times. That's including the back fields."

"Okay you got it." As soon as we began I felt a huge smile creep up, I loved running it was one thing that truly gave me pleasure back home. It cleared my head and made me feel…oddly powerful. We set an even pace and there was no sound besides the padding of our feet and our labored breathing.

After about two and a half miles the pace quickened. Sam started going a bit faster and I immediately responded with my own increase. In seconds the run turned to a race.

We reached 3 and a half-laps at the bottom of the mountain, which is when I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it… the whole things was just to ironic. We were fighting to survive and yet we still yearned for a little competition. For whatever reason Sam laughed along with me. Probably, because he knew he was about to kick my ass.

"See ya!" He told me and then took off like a rocket for the finish.

"Dammit!" I pushed harder than necessary and managed to catch up to a couple steps behind him. He must not have heard me making progress, because I got right up to him before he turned slightly to look behind him. I took advantage of his surprise and quickly shot in front of him. I was almost to the house when I turned to see where he was, only about two feet and gaining. I turned to look straight ahead and noticed the rock right in front of me two seconds too late. My right foot caught on the tip of it sending me flying almost six feet forward. My body twisted towards my right and I threw up my hands up to catch myself. I skidded about a foot more on my side before stopping. Sam flew to my side.

"AGH…" I groaned in pain.

"Are you okay? He asked frantically.

"Yeah," I attempted to get up and failed. "Oh my God my hip…"

"Do you think it's broken?" I was sitting halfway up as he kneeled beside me. I felt my hip for a while before answering.

"No, I just bruised it." I let out a sigh of relief. He held his hand toward me. "Nice, come on lets go clean it up."

"Hey, I'm not crippled." He laughed, but grabbed my wrists and pulled me up towards him.

"Can you walk?" He asked me.

"Yes, I don't think I did too much damage."

"Okay, well… okay." We started walking I was limping slightly, and he was watching me carefully. I started feeling uncomfortable again so I quickly made conversation.

"So are we calling this a draw?" I asked him with a smirk.

"HA! You wish. I'll give you a few days and we will rematch." I laughed at his intensity.

"Sure no problem. I had you though and you know it."

"What! You're crazy, you caught me in a moment of weakness and it won't happen again." He looked at me sideways. I just shrugged at him.

"Sure whatever you say." I said sarcastically. He laughed quieter this time, because he didn't want to wake up the kids and we were walking in the house.

"Sit down." He ordered me. I rolled my eyes, but my pride would have to shut up for awhile. "In the living room, not the kitchen." He told me.

I hobbled into the living room and sat on the big couch. He went into the kitchen going through cupboards and then went in the back. I leaned back and he quickly emerged back into the living room with a washcloth, a bowl of water, and a first aid kit.

He came over and sat too closely next to me on the couch.

"Let me see your hands."

"I can do it." I reached for the cloth.

"No you can't, trust me if I do it, it will feel way better." We stared at each other for a bit.

"Fine." I held out my right hand and he gently took it. He dipped the washcloth in the water and started rubbing light circles over my bloody and scratched hands. The heat made it sting and I quickly sucked in air.

"Are you good?" He asked worriedly.

"Yeah it's fine." I was a baby when it came to pain. We sat facing each other as he washed my hands and proceeded to soothingly rub an antibacterial cream on them. I closed my eyes wondering how pain could feel so… good. My eyes flew open like he had somehow heard my awkward thought. He was holding both hands and staring at me. I swallowed loudly as our eyes met. He cleared his throat.

"Okay lets see the hip." He told me, I stared at him horrified as he waited expectantly.

"What?"

"Oh come on you're not seriously going to be shy?" He looked at me like I was the crazy one.

"Fine." I flipped on my left side and stretched so I was lying sideways on the couch. My head propped on the arm of the couch. Sam sat in front of my body angled towards my face. I pulled my jersey shorts down on one side, just enough so my butt wasn't hanging out, but I still felt exposed. The skin had already turned a blackish blue color. It was ugly, hideous, actually. The bruise was already the size of my fist. I touched it tenderly and pouted.

"That looks awful." Sam said pointing out the obvious.

"Gee thanks. It doesn't feel so great either."

"I'm sorry." He reached his hand up to my hip and touched the bruise with just his fingertips. I flinched away automatically from the cold touch, but he flattened his hand against my hip softly, his hand resting on my now very warm hip. We watched each other for a few minutes. My heart was beating so loudly I was sure I was going to wake someone up. I leaned my head on the armrest and closed my eyes, desperate to break the contact. I was tired enough to sleep, but my adrenaline was too high. I couldn't look him in the eyes again, I was afraid I would turn to ashes.

"Um, we should raid within the next two days I think." I spoke with my eyes still closed.

"Oh yeah." He murmured softly. "Two days sounds good." He pulled my jersey shorts back up over my hip, but rested his hand on my thigh right above the back of my knee. "You need to get some sleep." He told me.

"Yeah, I don't want to wake Jenny though." I wasn't sure if I _could_ sleep at this point.

"She sleeps like she's in hibernation trust me you won't wake her up." His hand was still resting on my leg burning a hole through my shorts. I looked at his hand for a moment then looked back up at him attempting a scowl, but I was sure he could easily read my face. He grinned down at me and moved his face about four inches from my own. "I think I'm really going to like having you around." His bright green eyes swallowed me up and I caught my breath. He stared at me for a moment longer before pulling back and reaching for my hand to help me up. "Come on I'll help you back to your room."

"I think I can manage." I argued, he just laughed and held up his hands in surrender.

"You got it." We walked up the stairs, I was in a little pain, but it wasn't that bad. He walked behind me with his hands halfway extended, ready to grab me if I started to fall. I walked into our room and took my shoes and socks off. Sam leaned up against the doorway watching me. I sat up on the bed, ready to go to sleep. My watch said 6:30, but I was going to sleep in a little.

"Goodnight." Sam told me from the hallway.

"Night." I lay my head back down on my bed and within minutes, I was dreaming.


End file.
